Broom tensioning device



Sept. 22, 1931. -s. G. WQILISON 1,824,582

BROOM TENS IONING DEVICE Filed March 23, 1931 Patented Sept. 22, 1931 UNITED 1 STEPHENHG. WILSON, or PHILADELPHIA} PENNSYLVANIlA rnoon'rnnsroivme DEVICE 7 Application filed March 23,1931. Seria1 No.524,611. e

g held in amore or less compact condition, and

depending upon theadjustment of the ten sioning devicefthe straws may 'bevhard and stiff, or soft and flexible.

With the abovein view my invention com I, n a n 1c prehends a novel broomtensionlng devlce,

It further comprehends a novel broom tensioning device wherein a support or body porport 1, the broom straws, and throughthe tion is connected with the broom, and tenwith respect theret0.

Other novel features ofconstruotion and advantage will hereinafter ,more clearly ap pearin the detailed description and the apzapended claims.

For the purpose of illustrating the-invention, I have shown in the accompanying drawings a typical embodiment ofit, which, in

practice, will give satisfactory and'reliable results. It is, however, to be understood that the various ins'trumentalities of whichmy invention consists canbe variously arranged and organized, and my invention is'not limitedto the exact arrangement and organiza- *tion of these instrumentalitie's as hereinset Figure 1 is a side elevation of a portion of a broom in conjunction withiwhich a broom tensionin'g device embodying my invention is "employed.

Figure 21s a P p c viewer a detail of the body portion, i

Figure 3 .is an elevationon a reduced scale. Figure 4c is a sectional view of a plate or strip and its fastening device.

Figure 5 1s a rear elevation of a portion of the tensioning dev ce.

Figure 6 is a perspective View of a portion 0f the support forthe tensioning device.

Similarnumerals of reference indicate cor- V responding parts. c I

Referring to the drawings,:- f

1 designates a, body portion or support vhich is made ofsheet material-and preferably of spring metal. The supportl has .Thesupportl is secured to the broom by ,means of ,a'strip 4,"prefera*blyof corrugated sioning means surroundingthe broom is adlt' justably carried by said support and looked ,as at 9 and 10 to receive the pin? In this to the broom, preferably between-the'lines "of stitching 18 which extend across'the "broom its marginal opposite edge portions inturned as at .2 and at the edges it is provided with the slits? which cause the support tobe more flexible in one direction than in the other. m

sheet metal, having the opposite marginal edges intu-rnedas at '5 and depressed at its central portion-as at 6' to receive the end of the pin '7 so that suchend when pinched oil 6 will be flush with the outer face of the strip 4,

The pin-'7 passesthrough'a disc 8', the sup- 7 strip 4. Thedisc and'support are apertu'red manner, the body portion is securely fixed to the broom, preferablyfbetween the lines of sewing i The support 1, near its upper end, is provided with outwardly extending portions which are inwardly deflected, as at Ilfto form end members which can be p're'ssedin between the broom straws. These end membersfar'eprovided with deflected tongues 12 formed by n pressing out portionso' f the metal so'tha t g they will form anchors to retain the end mem- 1 bers within the brooms'tra uvs. The end mernbers ofthe support are thus securely fastened in the usual'manner. The support '1 is pro Y vided with apertures 14 terminating at their lower ends in slots I5. These apertures and slots are longitudinally spaced from each n other'to provide for positioning the 'tensioning member '16 in such a position asto cause the broom straws to be 'soft,medium or hard; 7 The tensioning'member 16 consists of fa I strand or strip of material, such as, fore;;-- m ample,.wire, having, in general, a rectangular contour, the free ends of thewire being connected with; a carrier 17,portion's of which arejbentpve'r the wire to form olasps The; lower portion of the carrier 17 is cut away to form an inwardly s ocking memb r as" or tongue 19 W h depends downwardly and forms "shoulders 20 against which the upwardly extending portions2l of the wire contact. The-portions 21, near'their-upper ends, H pass through the aperture formed by sthe in- 161? tending portions 21 of the tensioning member 16 are bent rearwardly and laterally as at 24 to form hooks which can be. passed through a selected aperture 14 and engage the rear walls surrounding such aperture to retain the 7 carrier 17 in the position to which it has been adjusted and to permit the rocking movement of the carrier when desired. At certain times the depending tongue 19 is locked in aslot 15, as will hereinafter be fully explained, to prevent such rocking movement of the carrier.

It will be understood from Figure 3 that the tensioning member 16 on one side of the broom is preferably lower than it is on the opposite side so that at the opposite edges" of the broom the wire inclines downwardly as at 25. This causes the straws at one face of the broom, for example, where the wire is lower, to be stiffer than the straws at the opposite face of the broom where the strand of wire is higher. I V The operation will now be apparent to those skilled in this art and is as follows:

Assuming first, that the user desires to have the broom straws soft, the free ends 24 of the tensioning member formed by the wire are brought together and the locking ends 24 of the wire are inserted in the aperture 14 markedfsoft, which brings the tensioning wire'higher up making the straws below it long and flexible. If it is desired that the broom straws be stiffer, the free ends are placed in the aperture 14 marked medium, and ifit is desired that the broom straws be hard and less flexible, these free ends are placed in the aperture marked hard. If only the free ends 24 are inserted into an aperture 14, the carrier 17 ispivotally con-- nected with the body portion 1 so that the broom straws, although being held together and made stiffer. yet, they are free to move in an edgewise direction. If it is desired to increase the stiffness of the broom straws, in'

said direction, then, the depending tongue 19 is inserted in a selected slot 15 and the free ends 24 are inserted into the juxtaposed aperture 14. In this case by edgewise movement of the broom, such as, for example. for. scrubbing, the broom straws will be stiffer because the pivotal movement of the carrier 17 on the body portion is prevented. The body portion at its upper end is fixedly anchored within the broom straws so' thatit will not swing sideways when anendwise movement of the broom is made, such as, for example, for scrubbing or stiff sweeping.

If it is desired to sweep with the flat side or face of the broom in the usual manner, the broom straws will be softer when sweeping in one direction than they will be when sweeping in the opposite direction because thestrand of wire on one side is lower than it is on the other. The body portion 1 also contributes to this action because the body portion 1 is more flexible in one direction than it is in the other. When the broom straws are flexing towards the support 1 the broom is softer than it is when the straws are flexing in the opposite direction, as the sections of the inturned opposite edges of the support 1 will abut and prevent its bending'in that direction.

It will thus be apparent that I provide for having one side of the broom softer and more flexible than the opposite side of the broom and also for increasing or diminishing the tension on the broom straws by adjustment of the position of the carrier 17 on the body portion. I also provide for having the carrier 17 capable of a rocking movement on the body portion 1, or it can have a selected fixed portion onthe body portion 1. The hard side of the broom is the face which carries the body portion 1.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure. by Let-, ters Patent, is

1. In a broom tensioning device, abody portion, means to fasten the body portion to the broom, said body portionhaving openings longitudinally spaced fromeach other, a carrier, and a wire surrounding the broom and connected with said carrier with its free ends laterally deflected and movably carried by said carrier whereby they can be brought together and passed through a selected opening to provide a pivotal movement therewith of the carrier.

2. In a broom tensioning device, a body portion, having opposite marginal portions inturned and provided with slits to permit flexibility in an outward direction, and havcarrier and terminating in laterally deflected locking members adapted to pass-through a selected opening in said body portion.

3. In a broom tensioning device, a body portion, having opposite marginal portions inwardly deflected to enter the broom straws, longitudinally spaced openings, provided with deflected tongues, a disc on one side of the broom, a strip on the opposite side, a

fastening device to secure said disc, strip and body portion to the broom, a carrier adapted I to be locked in its longitudinally adjusted position on said body portion, and a Wire tensioning member surrounding the broom, carried by said carrier, and adapted to engage the walls of a selected opening of said body portion to retain the carrier and member in assembled relation therewith.

4. In a broom tensioning device, a bodyv portlon, having longltudmally spaced open- 7 end portions of the strand, the free ends of said strand having limited relative movement on said carrier and terminating in laterally deflected locking elements adapted topass through an opening in said carrier when brought together, and to engage the rear walls of a selected opening when released 5. In a broom tensioning device, a body portion in the form of a longitudinally ex-" tending metal strip having longitudinally spaced openings terminating at one end in slots, means to secure said body portion at its upper end to a broom, a carrier having means to engage a selected slot, and a tensioning member in the form of a wire surrounding the broom and movably connected with said carrier with its free ends adapted to enter a selected opening and retain the carrier in assembled relation therewith.

6. In a broom tensioning device, a corrugated strip of material'to engage one side of the broom, a longitudinally extending body portion to engage the opposite side of the broom, a disc on said body portion. a fastening device passing through said disc, body portion, the broom. and the strip, to secure the upper end of the body port on in fixed relation with respect to the broom. said body portion being provided with longitudi nally spaced openings terminating at their lower portions in slots, a carrier having means to engage said slots to engage a selected slot, and a tensioning device in the form of a wire surrounding the broom straws and movably connected with said carrier with its free ends extending upwardly and terminating in deflected locking members, the tension 1nherent in the wire tending to retain said locking members in locked engagement with the walls of an opening into which they have been inserted. I

7. A broom tensioning device, comprising, a body portion in the form of a longitudinally extending strip having at its upper end deflected side portions provided with anchor- -ings longitudinally spaced relatively to the broom and terminating in slots, a carrier having a depending tongue to engage a selected slot and provided with shoulders in proximity to said tongue, and a wire tensioning member comprising a single strand of ma terial having its ends connected withsaid carrier and provided with upwardly extending portions to fulcrum on said shoulders, said carrier having means to permit limited relative movement of the upper ends of said strand, said strand terminating in locking members adapted when brought together to pass through an opening and when released to interlock with the walls of an opening due to the tension of the strand.

8. In a broom tensioning device, a strip of material to engage one side of the broom, provided with a depressed portion which is apertured. a body portion to engage the opposite side of the broom, a discengaging said body portion, a fastening device passing through said disc, said body portion, the broom, and the depressed seat of said strip, to rigidly connect the upper end of said body portion to the broom,'said body portion being formed of spring metal and having opposite sides inturned' and provided with slits to permit the body portion to bend more readily in one direction than in the other, a carrier longitudinally adjustable with respect to said body portion, and a tensioning member surrounding the broom and connected with said carrier. I

9. A broom tensioning device, comprising a body portion in the form of a strip of spring metal, means to fixedly secure the upper end of said body portion to the broom at the portion where it is sewed, a carrier longitudinally adjustable onsaid body portion, said carrier and body portion having means common thereto to retain the carrier in adjusted position on the body portion, and a tensioning tongues to engage the broom straws.

means to rigidly connect the upper part. of

said body portion with the sewed portion of 

